


Kiss Me, I Am the Colder

by yungmenace



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Drinking, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Guns, Other, Shooting Guns, mentions of killing, no pronouns used to describe reader, slight slow burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:33:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28067067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yungmenace/pseuds/yungmenace
Summary: It's hard to think you're on the right side of a war when you're supplying weapons to a cult.
Relationships: Zane Flynt/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Kiss Me, I Am the Colder

Maliwan sucked. You knew that. But there wasn’t a corporation in the galaxy that hadn’t committed a few war crimes here and there, and it was a steady job.

You worked in the R&D department and the now dead CEO’s final wish was for Maliwan to develop the most powerful, indestructible war robot in the galaxy. All of you knew it was going to be used against Atlas to take over Promethea. Katagawa had some obsession with their CEO before he died, and it seemed like a dead man’s grudge was now your problem.

There were four scientists tasked with development of the robot, who was subsequently named Wotan. Each scientist was to research one of the vault hunters working with Atlas and find their weaknesses. Those weaknesses would then be exploited by the weapons of Wotan. Katagawa seemed to think his plan was flawless.

Too bad he couldn’t have finished his plan before he got destroyed by said vault hunters.

You and three other scientists were each given a file, which you assumed was about your assigned vault hunter. You were told to get to work right away.

All of you got back to your desks and opened the files. You heard a groan from one of your coworkers before you could even look at yours. “What is it?” You asked, peeking around the corner of your desk to see the others. “I got a goddamn siren. What am I supposed to do with that?” One of the others spoke up. “Well, based on the footage I’ve seen of them, she does a lot of punching. Probably going to have to bulk up the armor.” The siren scientist stroked his chin. “Yeah, that’d work.” He glanced at you. “What’d you get?”

Finally, you looked down at the open file. You scanned it quickly. “Looks like… Former hitman turned vault hunter. Hey, isn’t there a bandit family from Pandora called the Flynts?” You asked, seeing your target’s last name. Your suspicion was quickly confirmed. “Yeah, but I’m pretty sure almost all of them are dead. Got killed by vault hunters.” You glanced at the file again. “Well if this guy is really a Flynt, it’s kind of weird that he became a vault hunter.” 

The fourth coworker popped up from her desk. “Your target is Zane Flynt? As in, three-time winner of galaxy’s sexiest hitman?” It seemed like she already knew more about him than you did. As you scanned his credentials, you found that it was that Zane Flynt. “Looks like it.” Your coworker then audibly swooned. “You’re so lucky. I’ve just got a dumb ex-Vladof soldier.” You didn’t see it as lucky. He seemed like a highly-capable killer who had managed to escape the bounties of at least six different companies. As you continued to flip through the pages, you finally found a picture of him. 

Three-time galaxy’s sexiest hitman was definitely a fitting title.

He was definitely older, but that didn’t make him any less attractive. If anything, it helped. You’d always had a thing for silver foxes. 

Were you seriously drooling over the man you were being paid to kill with a giant robot? This was going to be a difficult job. 

Everyone got to work soon after. You sat at your desk, racking your brain for ways to exploit Flynt’s weaknesses. The problem was that you couldn’t find any. He had some piece of tech for every occasion. He was fast and agile, and he was damn smart too. 

The others were already finding ways to beat their vault hunters. The siren relied on melee, so Wotan would be hard to get close to and have tough armor. The soldier’s mech was slow and could be easily taken out by a missile barrage. The hunter was dependent on their pet and the pet tended to get up close to enemies, so Wotan would have lasers to take out anything that got too close. But Zane was a sharpshooter, he was fast, and he never depended too much on one type of fighting.

You just couldn’t figure him out.

But you had to come up with something. Maliwan executives certainly weren’t as bad as Hyperion when it came to murdering every employee who failed to live up to their standards, but you’d definitely be punished in some way. 

You sat and thought for a moment. Failure wasn’t an option, especially if you were the only one who failed. You had to come up with something.

Then you had an idea.

Frantically, you started flipping through the file, trying to find something. Finally you found it. An ECHO line directly to the Crimson Raiders. You hurried off to a private area and called the line.

The voice that answered was… irritating, to say the least. You thought Handsome Jack had killed off all of the CL4P-TP units, but apparently one survived. 

“Hello! You’ve reached Super General Claptrap of the Crimson Raiders. How can we help you?” You had to hold back a groan. Of course it was a help line. “Well, I’ve got a situation with… Maliwan.” That was basically true. “So you must be on Promethea! Let us know your location and we’ll send our second best team, since I can’t be there.” You definitely didn’t want that. “Oh, no, um, I’ve heard about the operative and I think he’d be able to handle this situation the best. And I’m actually on Pandora. That’s why I thought it might be an emergency. Seems weird for Maliwan to be here.” You did your best to play it cool. Thankfully, the robot was too dumb to think otherwise of your strange request. “Oh the guy with the weird accent? Alright, we’ll send him, I suppose. Where are you?” 

“I’m… at a bar, just outside of Lynchwood. I think they’re trying to rob the bank.” That was a good excuse. “Alright. Mr. Zane Flynt will be there soon. Try not to die before he gets there and have a great day!” The line went dead and you ran off to the fast travel station in the office. 

You knew Pandora pretty well. You’d spent a lot of time there, forced and otherwise. Lynchwood had calmed down a lot since the sheriff died, so you felt pretty safe going down there with just a pistol. 

Thankfully, you got there before the hitman. The bar was fairly rowdy but went quiet as the doors opened. You glanced back and instantly recognized the face. He looked confused. You caught his attention and waved him over to you.

He was hesitant at first but came over and sat at the bar beside you. “You the one who called in about Maliwan?” You nodded. “I don’t see no Maliwan here.” You pulled your jacket to the side to show him your pistol and your R&D badge. “So you’re the Maliwan. M’kay. Bit confusin’. What’s yer angle here?” 

You rested your elbows on the bar and looked ahead. “We’re supposed to be building a war machine. One that’s meant to exploit you and your team’s weaknesses. Each of us has to study one of you vault hunters and learn everything about you so we can kill you.” Zane nodded along as you spoke, not seeming any less confused. “Right. Why’re you tellin’ me all this?” 

Finally, you looked over at him. “I’m supposed to figure out how to kill you and it’s impossible.” The operative let out a hearty laugh and leaned back in his seat. “Hadn’t even met me and ya already fell for the old Zane charm. I’ve that effect on people.” That wasn’t necessarily false, but that’s not why you called him here. “No, it’s just that if I fail, Maliwan might kill me. But if everyone on the team fails, they’ll just assume the soldiers guarding the robot are at fault and leave us alone.” He looked like he was starting to understand. “So, yer gonna tell me all about this bot so we can destroy it and make it look like it wasn’t your team’s fault.”

He caught on quick. That would be useful. “Exactly.” He scratched at his beard. “A’right, but you have a lot to gain if we all die. How am I s’posed to trust you?” You’d been thinking about that. He really had no reason to think you were being honest. “I don’t really know. But if there’s anything you can think of that would help you trust me, I’ll do it.” 

And then there was that look on his face. “Welllll, if I’m bein’ honest, ever since I joined the Raiders, haven’t had much time for fun. If you can show me a good time tonight and not try ta kill me, I’ll hear ya out.” That didn’t seem so bad, as long as you didn’t get caught by Maliwan. You pulled up your ECHO and checked for any deployments of Maliwan soldiers on the planet. “Alright.” You were only going because it didn’t seem like you’d get caught. At least, that’s what you told yourself.

Zane grinned. “Great! But first, you gotta tell me who the hell you are.” Oh, right. You hadn’t even told him your name. He just knew that you worked for Maliwan. You told him your name and what your job at Maliwan was. 

“You seem like you can handle yerself.” He said, motioning to the pistol on your hip. You shook your head. “Not really. I can shoot, if it comes down to it. But I’m no vault hunter.” He laughed. “I didn’t think I was much of a vault hunter neither, but here I am. Much better than bein’ a corporate stooge.” You would’ve been offended if he hadn’t been right. “It’s a steady job where I don’t have to worry about being killed every day.” He leaned forward on the bar. “Just some days, right?” Again, he was correct. “I’m not like any of the other Crimson Raiders. I belong in a lab, not on a battlefield.” Zane shrugged, seemingly giving up on the subject.

“We should get going before it gets too dark. I know my way around Pandora, but you grew up here so I’m gonna follow your lead.” He raised a brow at that. “How’d you know… Oh wait, you probably know lots about me. This’ll be fun! Let’s go.” 

He stood up from the bar and headed towards the door, apparently not waiting for you to catch up. When you got outside, he’d already digistructed a vehicle. You’d seen that kind of thing on Promethea but had never ridden one yourself.

Zane seemed perfectly comfortable on it, like he’d ridden one a thousand times before. Considering his record, he probably had. You weren’t sure what he expected you to do, since it looked like there was only one seat.

Glancing over at you, he patted the small spot behind him. “C’mon, there’s enough room for ya.” You wiggled in behind him, now pressed flush against his back. “Might wanna hold on. I drive fast.” He didn’t even give you a chance to try to grab something before he revved the engine and sped off. 

Thankfully you managed to stay on while you grabbed at the handlebars to the sides of the seat. The operative zipped the cyclone between rocks and narrowly avoided crashing into COV riders looking for him. 

You’d dealt with COV before. Before he died, Katagawa had aligned Maliwan with the “twin gods” and you’d had to supply their massive group of followers with weapons. They weren’t bright, but they were devoted and willing to die for their found family. 

Zane glanced back at you to make sure you were still holding on, after barely avoiding being shot by the fanatics roaming the area outside Lynchwood. If there wasn’t something trying to kill you around every corner, Pandora might be a nice place.

Unfortunately, the wildlife and the residents were not peaceful in any sense. You were grateful to live in a Maliwan facility, but it did get boring sometimes. Even if you were sure you’d get killed, Pandora was a nice break from the monotony of your usual life.

It didn’t hurt that you were spending your day on Pandora with someone who was more than capable of keeping you from getting killed. That definitely eased your mind.

“Yer gonna fall off if ya keep grippin’ the bars like that.” Zane said, turning his head back so you could hear him better. “Where else am I supposed to hold?!” You yelled, the wind in your ears forcing you to speak louder. He shook his head and laughed, like you were missing something completely obvious. “Maybe hold onto me? Like a normal person?” He explained. 

You apparently had missed something completely obvious.

Quickly, you moved your hands from the bars to around his waist, locking them together right in front of his stomach. He let go of the steering handlebars with one hand to move your hands from his stomach to his chest. Each hand rested on either side of his chest.

He put his hand back on the handlebars and continued driving like he hadn’t just done that. You were glad he was looking forward because your face was bright red. How could some old man make you blush like that by doing something so innocent?

It was ridiculous. You’d just met the man, even if you did know basically every aspect of his life. 

The cyclone suddenly came to a stop and you had to brace yourself against his back. “Alright back there?” He asked, looking back at you. You nodded and wiggled out from behind him, trying to figure out where you were. 

It looked somewhat familiar. The main time you’d spent on Pandora involved getting in the middle of gang wars and trying to get one side to buy Maliwan weapons to win. There was one war that had been between two clans, the Hodunks and the Zafords. You remembered going to a bar to try to talk to the leader of one of the clans, but you ended up just drinking and having a good time instead.

Zane got off the bike and headed over to a building. He waved you over. “This was an old stompin’ ground for me when I was younger. Lotsa folk here’ll probably recognize me, but no one should try to kill me.” He said, sounding very nostalgic. “Is this the Zaford bar?” You asked, looking around to find some kind of signage. “Yeah, how’d you know?”

He held the door open for you as you two stepped inside. “I came down here for some business a few years back, when I was just a Maliwan sales rep.” The bar was loud, but you wouldn’t have expected anything else. Zane looked right at home as he strode over to a well-worn table with two very old looking seats. 

You followed him and he pulled a chair out for you. He was much more of a gentleman than you expected, based on your knowledge of his family. Maybe you could ask him about that. 

As you settled into your seat, Zane called over a worker and ordered two drinks. You couldn’t understand a word either one of them said, as they both spoke with the same strange accent and it seemed like Zane’s own accent got thicker as he talked to the worker. The other man hurried off towards the bar to get your drinks and Zane turned back to face you. “Don’t worry, I didn’t order anyt’ing too hard.” That was relieving. You didn’t need to be driven around Pandora by a drunk Vault Hunter.

“So what was it like growing up on Pandora?” You asked, as nonchalantly as possible. He glanced at you, like he knew something was up. “Eventful. I’m sure you already know, but I grew up in a bandit family. That kinda life doesn’t give you much time to relax.” You were fairly certain life as a hitman and a vault hunter wouldn’t give you a lot of breaks either. “Why’d you leave Pandora?” 

Zane looked around the room, at all of the different faces crowding the bar. “Are you tryna get to know me or somethin’?” You shrugged. “Nothing better to do.” He let out a hearty laugh. Why did that give you butterflies in your stomach?

“A’right. I left Pandora ‘cause I didn’t wanna be a bandit for the rest o’ my life. An’ it’s a trash planet, even if it is my home.” That made sense. It was a terrible place to live and if you could get out, you should. No one happily called Pandora their home, other than psychos and bandits. 

“What’d you do when you left?” Zane scratched at his beard. “That was a long time back. I left when I was… 17, maybe. I joined a black ops mercenary unit, learned all the skills I needed to be a hitman, and took every job I could until I had meself a reputation across the galaxy.” So there was a reason he seemed so capable in his file. He’d been doing this for practically his whole life and he had to be good at it, or he’d get killed. 

But there was still something you were wondering. “So if you left Pandora do all that, why did you come back and become a vault hunter, especially considering what happened to your family?” That might’ve crossed a line, you thought as you spoke. But Zane didn’t seem fazed. “I’ve got hundreds of hits out on me. Practically every corporation in the galaxy wants me dead. It got hard to hide from ‘em all. Only reason anyone comes to Pandora is the eridium, and we all know what happened to the last bastard who tried to use that to his advantage.” That was true. Even Maliwan knew not to get involved with eridium mining after what happened to Hyperion’s former CEO. 

“Almost as soon as I got here, I got a call from the leader of the Crimson Raiders askin’ for my help in takin’ down the Calypsos. I guess that’s what made me a vault hunter. As for my brothers, we all took different paths in life. They got what was comin’ for ‘em.” His observation, while true, was a bit sad. They were his brothers, after all. “And ‘sides, I still got a sister and I don’t see her gettin’ killed by vault hunters any time soon.” 

You hadn’t really expected him to open up so easily. He seemed like the kind to keep things close to the chest, but you’d apparently made an incorrect assumption. Either that, or he just didn’t care anymore what people knew about him, especially since you already knew a lot about him from his file.

The worker from before came by the table and dropped off your drinks. They definitely didn’t seem like normal Pandoran drinks. There was no blood to be found on the glasses and they didn’t reek of sulfur either. They actually seemed consumable. Zane handed a glass to you and held his own up. You did the same and touched your drink to his before taking a drink. It was surprisingly good. It seemed like Zane really knew his alcohol.

“What about you, huh? There’s gotta be another reason why you’re so willin’ to betray Maliwan.” He asked, and you winced. ‘Betray’ was such a strong word. “I wouldn’t so much call it betrayal as I would call it ‘saving my own neck’.” Zane nodded. “So it’s fer selfish reasons.” You frantically shook your head. “N-no, it’s not like that! I mean, I guess it kind of is, but I’m also saving the rest of my team too. They don’t realize it’s impossible to beat you guys, but if the blame of Wotan failing isn’t put on us, we’ll be fine. If any of the blame is put on any of us, we’ll all face the consequences.” You’d seen it happen hundreds of times before. A team of scientists failed Katagawa and they were never seen again. So either you didn’t fail or you found a way to put the blame on someone else. 

“And that’s the only reason yer doin’ this?” He asked, now attempting to pry into your life. “Well, I don’t know. Working for Maliwan was mostly fine, until they joined up with the Calypsos. We were definitely killing more innocent people than we had been before and it just felt even more wrong. And you guys, the Crimson Raiders, you’re trying to save everyone from whatever they’re planning with the Great Vault. I know enough about vaults to know what’s inside them and the last time a vault got opened on Pandora, it didn’t end well for the people here.” You paused for a moment, trying to collect your thoughts. “I know what’s right and what’s wrong, even if I work for a bloodthirsty corporation. And anything I can do to help stop more vaults from being opened recklessly, I’ll do.” 

The whole time you spoke, Zane had been listening intently. That was something you hadn’t experienced in a long time. Maliwan was a cold work environment. The closest things you had to friends were the people on your team. You weren’t thinking that Zane was your friend, of course, but it was nice that someone was actually listening to you for once. 

“Sounds like you’d be a pretty good addition to the Raiders, if I do say so meself.” You honestly thought he was joking, so you laughed. “Wasn’t a joke. I’m serious! Havin’ a man on the inside could really help our cause.” Considering how much Maliwan surveyed their employees, you didn’t even know how that would work. You could quit your job, sure, but you didn’t know if you were that dedicated to this. “I just don’t think that’s the life for me. I’m smart, but I can hardly shoot and don’t even get me started on grenades and everything else.” Zane laughed, bright and loud. “That’s no problem! I could teach ya. I am the most accomplished operative in the galaxy for a reason, ya know.” He said with a wink.

That actually didn’t sound too terrible. Even if you didn’t end up joining the Raiders, you might be able to better protect yourself on future trips to Pandora. “Alright, fine. But I’m not guaranteeing that I’ll join the Crimson Raiders.” Zane grinned and threw some cash on the table. “Let’s go then! I know a great shooting range nearby.” And he was off again. He never really seemed to stay in the same place for long.

You followed him outside and got on the cyclone behind him. This time, you put your arms around him on your own and held on tight as he revved the engine and sped off into the Pandoran wasteland.

The sun was just starting to set and the whole desert was covered in a red and orange glow. You hadn’t ever noticed that the sunsets on Pandora were this beautiful. Looking ahead, you saw Zane’s face awash in the same colors of the sunset. He looked at peace, speeding through the warmth of the evening sun. 

You felt at peace too.

He stopped the cyclone a bit more gently this time and hopped off. You looked around, but had no idea where you were. You hadn’t been paying attention to where you were heading, as you’d been a little preoccupied admiring the sunset and your companion for the night. There was a wall with different sized targets hanging on it, and a lamppost with a three hoops hanging down from it. “Use'ta come here wit’ me brothers and practice our shootin’. Still in pretty good shape considerin’ no one’s been here in at least 7 years.” He grabbed a backpack off the cyclone and started digging through it. 

He found what he had apparently been looking for and handed it to you. “I know you work for Maliwan and all, but their guns suck. So, here’s my favorite pistol. Be gentle with ‘er.” You glanced at the gun in your hands. It was a Jakobs, you could tell that easily. But it was pink. Most Jakobs guns were wood and metal, so a pink gun from them seemed odd. You’d never seen anything like it before. “It’s a Maggie. Named after Monty Jakobs’ late wife, accordin’ to his son. Pretty rare gun, as far as I know.” 

It felt right in your hands, like it had been used many times and was now molded to fit in your grip. “Right, ‘kay, first, c’mon over here.” You walked over to where he was standing, in front of the target wall. “This kinda pistol is best for medium range, ‘cause it‘s not super accurate but it shoots a lotta bullets.” He moved behind you and slid his hand under your arm holding the gun and adjusted your aim. “It’s got a pretty good sight, so make sure to use that.” He had a good grip on your arm, keeping it straight and steady. “A’right, aim for the biggest target there.” 

You moved the gun to point at the target in question, placed your finger on the trigger, and pulled. It was louder than any gun you’d ever used before and it almost made you jump, but Zane kept you stable. “Hey, great job!” You looked up at the target and saw a bullet hole close to the center. “Not too bad for someone who says they can barely shoot.” You felt your face turn red. “Well, you were helping a lot, it wasn’t just me.” But as you lowered your arm, you realized Zane hadn’t been holding you. You’d actually done that on your own.

He grinned when you saw you meet that realization. “Most pistols won’t give so much recoil, so you gotta make sure to adjust for that. But Jakobs pistols are some of the hardest to perfect and you nearly got a bullseye on your first try. Seems like you’re a natural.” Praise coming from him meant a lot, considering how skilled he was. “Ready to try grenades?” You nodded. “Might as well, while I’m still on a roll.” You handed the gun over to him, but he shook his head. “You keep a hold of that for now.” You blinked a few times, utterly baffled as to why he would let you hang onto his prized pistol. But he seemed adamant about it. 

You walked over to the hanging hoops that you assumed were for grenade throwing. Zane pulled a few basic grenades out of his bag and handed one to you. “The secret for grenades is to aim just a little higher than you think you need to. They go in an arch, so they always land lower than you expect them to, unless you throw high.” That made sense, but actually doing it would be a different story. “Aim for the highest hoop.” You made sure to keep his advice in mind as you threw the grenade and watched it fly through the hoop and explode against the cliff behind the set-up.

“I did it!” You yelled, turning around to find yourself face-to-face with the operative. “You’d be a great vault hunter, ya know.” He said, crossing his arms across his chest. “Maybe. Show me how a real vault hunter would do all this.” You replied, just a bit of challenge in your tone. Zane laughed, and shrugged. “Sure, whatever ya’d like.” He strode over to the targets with all the confidence in the world and pulled out a huge sniper rifle. He backed up, almost leaving the little area completely. “Cover yer ears.” He called out to you and you put your hands over your ears. A shot rang through the air and you looked over to see a bullet hole in the dead center of the smallest target on the wall. 

Grinning at you, he walked over to the grenade hoops. Pulling out one of the grenades, he eyed the hoops for a second before closing his eyes and throwing it through the center of the smallest hoop. There was a reason he was so hard to kill and you were witnessing it firsthand.

“An’ that’s not even all I can do!” He said, seeing the awe on your face. “C’mon, we’re goin’ to a COV hideout. Promise I’ll keep ya safe.” With anyone else, you might’ve felt nervous. But Zane had just proved he was more than capable of taking care of himself and anyone else. So you found yourself agreeing to go to a dangerous encampment of zealots just to watch him show off.

And you weren’t even that upset about it. 

The two of you hopped back on the cyclone and he sped off to a close by camp of COV. It seemed like he knew exactly where they were, and he probably did, considering most of his time was spent fighting them.

You stayed behind him, holding his pistol at the ready if someone tried to attack you. The bandits came out of their tents as soon as they heard the cyclone pull up and were already shooting at Zane. 

And then suddenly, there were two Zanes. You watched as your companion sped off into the camp, mowing down zealots as his digi-clone stayed behind with you and shot anyone who tried to get close. You watched as a small drone zipped off from Zane’s shoulder and began shooting at any surviving COV. 

You were there for less than 10 minutes. Zane came walking back to you, the drone following right behind him. He hadn’t even broken a sweat. “How ya like my friend?” He said, pointing to the clone. “He’s very realistic.” You glanced at the clone, who proceeded to give you a thumbs-up. “And very good at shooting.” The clone waved you off, in an ‘aw shucks’ manner. The real Zane chuckled. “If he could blush, I’m sure he would.” 

He pulled out a small device and deactivated both the clone and the drone. He glanced up at the sky, Elpis now clearly showing in the sky, growing darker by the minute. “Gettin’ kinda late. S’pose I oughta trust you by now.” He teased, poking you in the side. “So you’ll work with me?” Zane nodded. “Better than any other option I got right now. Seems like that bot’ll kill my teammates and I’d prefer if they survived.” You could finally tell him your plan and get back to the office to finish the robot.

“Okay so Wotan is--” Zane cut you off. “Ah, no, we’re not talkin’ about it here. We’re goin’ up to Sanctuary and yer gonna tell everyone about the bot.” You really didn’t want to do that. “Zane, the more people that know I’m betraying Maliwan, the more of a chance there is that I’ll get caught. Please, can we just keep this between us and you can tell your team?” He thought for a second, weighing his options. “Fine. But we’re still going to Sanctuary. You’ll be fine there, just gimme your Maliwan badge and I’ll hide it ‘til you leave.” 

Reluctantly, you handed your identification badge to him and he stuck it in a pocket in his jacket. “A’right, hold onto me and we’ll be up there in a jiffy.” You were expecting to have to go to a fast-travel station, but you just did what Zane said. 

Wrapping your arms around his center, he pulled out his ECHO and pushed a few buttons. “Yeah, Ellie, I’ve got an extra passenger. That fine?” You heard a muffled voice with a distinct Hodunk accent give the all clear, and then you were being pulled through the fast-travel system. 

When you came out, it looked like you were in the common area of a spaceship. Zane informed you that you were indeed in the common room of the Sanctuary III. You glanced around the room and saw people from planets all across the galaxy. And then you saw the other Vault Hunters. 

They were at the poker table playing something that definitely wasn’t poker, but they still looked like they were having a great time. You hadn’t really expected them to be friends but it seemed as though they were all really close. They waved at Zane when he appeared and he waved back. “How’s the game goin’?” He asked, approaching the table. “I am fairly certain Amara is cheating, but good nonetheless.” FL4K said, causing Amara to groan. “Just because you’re bad at the game doesn’t mean I’m cheating.” She replied, crossing her muscular arms. Moze let out a laugh. “She totally is cheating though.” Amara scoffed in offense. “I am not!” It quickly turned into a yelling match between the Vault Hunters. Zane leaned over to you. “This happens every time.” He whispered and you let out a small laugh. You were even more sure you were doing the right thing by telling them about Wotan after seeing that the Crimson Raiders really were just people trying to save others. 

Zane turned from the table and headed towards one of the doors in the area. He waved you over. “It’s my room, don’t worry. No one else can come in.” You went in after him and he closed the door once you were in.

You heard muffled ‘ooh’s from outside the door. Zane groaned. “They always do that. So, let’s get to talkin’. What can ya tell me?” He sat down on his bed and waited for you to speak.

Pulling up the current schematics on your ECHO, you explained how every aspect of Wotan was meant to exploit his team’s weakness and how best to avoid them. He was taking notes the whole time, occasionally asking questions about specific parts of the bot. 

“Your best bet is to find Wotan before they can deploy it on Promethea. I’m not sure what facility they’re keeping it at, but I think there’s a mole from Atlas providing some information to one of Atlas’ officers. Wotan is top-secret though, so only executives and the scientists know about it.” You said, feeling like you’d told him everything that would be helpful. 

You’d been there for a while and had finally noticed how late it was. “Any other questions…?” You asked, bobbing back and forth on your feet. Zane looked over the notes he’d taken and shook his head. “Think I’m good.” You hoped you’d be able to get back to the Maliwan facility without suspicion, but it seemed like you’d have to go back down to Pandora and use a fast-travel station there. 

Before you decided to head out, you realized you still had Zane’s pistol. You pulled it out and held it out to him. He looked up from his ECHO and saw you holding out the gun. He laughed quietly and stood up, walking over to you. He pushed the gun back to you. “Keep it. Think you’ve earned it after today. I’ll find a different one.” He said with a wink.

The whole day, from the first time you saw his picture, you’d had this feeling in your stomach. A feeling that was telling you to do something, but you weren’t sure what. But in the moment, standing that close to him as he gave you his prized pistol, you knew exactly what it was telling you to do. You were way too scared to do it, though.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem he was.

After you holstered the gun, you looked back to him to say goodbye but instead, he leaned down and kissed you. 

You never wanted to pull away. All day, you’d been thinking how it might feel to kiss him or, better yet, be kissed by him. And here you were, in the middle of his room, lips pressed to his as he wrapped an arm around your back to pull you against him. 

A knock on the door made both of you jump and pull away. You could see his face was pink as he grinned at you. “I’ll, um, I’ll get that.” He moved away from you and went to answer the door. It was the commander of the Crimson Raiders, Lilith. “Hey, I know you’ve got company right now, but there’s something going down on Eden-6 and we need to send the team down.” Zane glanced back at you apologetically and you waved it off. “A’right. I’ll get ready to go.” The door closed again and Zane sighed. 

“Uh, sorry ‘bout that.” He said, grabbing his equipment from around the room. “It’s fine, I had to leave eventually anyways.” Zane stopped and looked up at you. “Actually, I was hoping maybe you’d stay. Not right away, o’course, but I thought you’d be a good Crimson Raider.” You’d hoped he wouldn’t bring that up again. “Zane, I just don’t think--” 

“No, no, don’t think. Just know what you want. And I think you want to be here.” He said, strapping his drone to his shoulder. “Tell you what. I’ll figure out where they’re keeping Wotan and you let me know when you’re going to take it down. If you do it, I’ll join the Raiders. If not, we go our separate ways.” He thought for a second and then grinned. “I like those odds. See ya soon.” He winked at you and blew a kiss before heading out of the room and meeting up with his team.

The next week was torture. You had to hide the fact that you’d betrayed Maliwan while also continuing to work on Wotan. It didn’t take long to find out they were keeping it at the secret facility on Midnight’s Cairn, but you still hadn’t heard from Zane.

It was driving you crazy. You’d had so much time to think about joining the Raiders or staying with Maliwan, and you knew what you wanted to do. But you also had to keep your promise to Zane, no matter how the battle went.

And then, late in the evening, you got a call on your ECHO. “Hello?” You could practically hear him grinning. “We’re headed to Midnight’s Cairn. Can’t wait for ya to join the Raiders.” You were practically buzzing with excitement as you travelled to the secret facility. You’d already gone a couple of times so it wouldn’t be strange when you went to see the Vault Hunters. 

You sat in the booth above the testing area for Wotan where they were currently testing its defenses. Suddenly, alarms started blaring. “The Vault Hunters are here!” One of the troopers in the room yelled, starting lockdown procedures and running out to join the fight. You couldn’t leave the room until the threat was taken care of, so you just watched through the window, waiting for the Vault Hunters to come.

It didn’t take long. With all four of them, they were a powerhouse. And you watched as Wotan was deployed onto the battlefield, towering over them. You watched as they used all of their skills exactly like you and Zane had planned.

You watched as Wotan split, something you’d warned Zane about, and you watched as the team split as well to take on the separated parts of the bot. 

And, with more excitement than you’d like to admit, you watched them destroy the war machine.

You checked the monitors in the room and saw that you were the only personnel left on site. You unlocked the doors and ran down to the testing area to meet up with them. But you were mostly just interested in seeing Zane.

Down the stairs and through the doors you went until you reached the battleground, littered with remnants of Wotan and guns. Zane was standing in the middle of the area and turned to see you coming down. With a ridiculous grin on his face, he caught you in his arms once you were close enough. 

“Looks like yer gonna have to quit yer job.” He said, squeezing you tight. “I’ve got no problem with that.” You wrapped your arms around him and mentally started writing your resignation.

You spent the next few days gathering your things and sending them to Sanctuary. The team that had worked on Wotan got off without any punishment, as the executives blamed it on the incompetence of the troopers that were on site, just as you’d hoped.

And then you were a Crimson Raider.

Your first day on Sanctuary III was strange. You got to know the crew as best as you could, but it was a lot of people to meet in one day. You were a little overwhelmed, to be honest. People at Maliwan had never been this talkative.

By the end of the day, you were visibly exhausted. You trudged to the crew quarters and found your bunk among all of the other bunks belonging to all of the non-Vault Hunter members of the ship. It was definitely a step down from your private room in the Maliwan facility. 

You were getting ready to collapse onto the thin mattress when you saw a note stuck to the pillow.

‘Beds here suck, come sleep in a more comfortable one’

You figured he meant his bed was the more comfortable one, so you grabbed a backpack with some clothes and a couple other essentials, and made your way down to the Vault Hunter’s quarters. You still remembered which room was his.

Not wanting to intrude, you decided to knock on the door. Before you could, you heard someone cough from behind you. Turning, you saw Moze standing in the common area looking at you. “Uh, hey. What’s up?” She glanced between you and the door and laughed a bit. “I feel like I should be asking you that.” You blinked, not quite understanding what she meant.

“It’s just that it’s late and almost everyone else is already in bed. But you’re about to knock on Zane’s door.” She explained, crossing her arms. “No, it’s not like that! I just had a note on my bed from him telling me to come down here.” She laughed again. “Oh man, you really don’t realize? Ever since he brought you to the ship, he hasn’t stopped talking about you. He was constantly running us through drills to prepare for Wotan, because he said you’d join the Raiders if we destroyed it. Dude’s got it bad.” You felt a blush creep onto your face.

Sure, the two of you had kissed, but you took Zane for the type to not be very interested in commitment, or even just liking someone beyond a one night stand. Obviously you’d misjudged him once again.

As you stood there, trying to process this new information, Moze came over and gave you a pat on the shoulder. “He’s a great dude. You should knock.” So you did.

He answered the door pretty quickly. And there was that stupid grin on his face when he saw you. “So ya got my note!” You nodded, taking said note out of your pocket. “It’s been a really long day. A comfortable bed would be fantastic.” He laughed and stepped aside so you could come into his room. The door closed behind you as you looked around.

It was much cleaner than the last time you’d been in there. All of the various gadgets strewn across the room had been picked up and organized neatly on his workbench. He had actually made his bed as well. 

“Looks like you cleaned up.” You pointed out, glancing over at him. He crossed his arms across his chest and grinned. “Yeah, well, I figured you’d probably appreciate a clean room rather than one wit’ gadgets and stuff everywhere.” You sat down on his bed and dropped your backpack on the ground. “That was very sweet of you.” 

He still had that ridiculous grin on his face, but it had grown on you over the time you’d known him. It wasn’t so ridiculous anymore.

“Glad you t’ink I’m sweet.” He snickered, leaning back against his work table. “Rather you t’ink I’m somethin’ else, though.” You squinted at him, unsure of what he meant. “What exactly are you saying, Flynt?” At this, he rolled his eyes. “I feel like I’ve made my intentions pretty clear. Have I not?” You blinked, trying to figure out what that was supposed to mean. He was quiet, giving you the time to figure it out.

And then you got it.

You felt your face start to turn red. “Oh, well, I thought that I… had made it obvious…” You mumbled, your cheeks burning. Zane let out a whistle. “Hoo boy, you’re embarrassed, aren’t you?” You were almost offended that he would say that, even if it was true. “Maybe! It’s kind of embarrassing that you haven’t noticed what my intentions are, if we’re being honest!” You didn’t know what you expected him to do after you said that, but you definitely didn’t expect him to come over to the bed and put his hands on the wall above where you were sitting. 

Now looming over you, Zane’s eyes were focused on you, his body caging you where you were seated. “From the moment I met you in that bar, I knew what my intentions were. Jus’ wanted to take the time to make sure yours were the same.” 

Your heart was racing and you were sure he could hear it pounding in your chest. Why was this all getting to you so badly? He’d kissed you before, but there was something about what he was doing right then that made you feel way different than when you two had kissed.

He was so close to you, close enough that all you could breathe in was his scent. You wanted to do something, and this time, you decided you’d be brave enough to do it.

Grabbing the front of his shirt, you pulled him down to you and pressed your lips against his. For once, you’d gotten the jump on him and he seemed legitimately surprised. He steadied himself by placing his hands on your shoulders and once he was stable, he moved a hand to rest against your cheek.

He pulled away after a moment, breathing heavy as he tried to gather himself. You sat relaxed on his bed, leaning back on your palms, watching as he caught his breath. His face was flushed and his shirt was wrinkled from where you grabbed it and you couldn’t help but think he’d look so much better without a shirt on at all.

Finally, he looked down at you, watching him intently. He swallowed harshly, patting down his shirt to get the wrinkles out. “That was… unexpected.” You tilted your head and smirked at him. “I thought you’d figured out my intentions.” Your sarcastic tone caught him off guard and he blinked in surprise. You weren’t sure where it was coming from, but you’d been filled with a sudden burst of confidence. 

But then it appeared he was the one with confidence, as he started to pull off his jacket with a fervor you hadn’t seen before. He definitely had an idea of where this was going to go and you weren’t going to stop him. You’d hoped he’d wanted this from the first time he’d kissed you, but you’d been interrupted that time.

Tonight, everyone on the ship was asleep, there were no more imminent threats looming, and you had nowhere else to be other than here with him. No interruptions whatsoever.

And so you joined him in stripping down, first starting with the old Maliwan sweatshirt that you’d planned to wear to bed. Once you’d gotten it pulled over your head, you looked up to see Zane was already shirtless.

He was a sight to behold.

His chest was riddled with scars from years of work in a dangerous business. Some looked like bullet wounds, others seemed like they came from torture or elemental damage. But trim muscle also lined his chest and stomach, with a splattering of blonde hair across his pectorals and down the middle of his abdomen down to…

You were staring. You hadn’t realized how low he wore his pants and were now noticing, especially what was just below his belt.

The look on his face when he saw you staring was ridiculous. He looked so pleased with himself and you couldn’t help but groan when you looked up to see him. “Didja know yer starin’?” Zane teased, and you felt your cheeks burning. “Well when it’s right in front of me…” You mumbled, scooting back on his bed. “‘It’? C’mon darlin’, you know what it’s called.” That classic Zane Flynt confidence was out in full as he bent down to get his face on level with yours. He slipped his hand under your chin and lifted it so you were looking right at him. 

“What is it?” A single steely blue eye scanned your face as you tried to regain any semblance of the confidence that had once been yours and not his. “What’re you so interested in, huh?” How were you supposed to respond to that? You could be blunt and completely honest or try to play it cool, like you hadn’t just been staring at the bulge in his pants. But as his gaze bore into you, you made your choice.

“Your dick.”

Apparently blunt honesty was what you chose.

You expected Zane to laugh or make fun of you in some way, but he just smirked at you. He stood up straight again, letting go of your chin. “Pants off.” He said, and it took you a second to realize he meant for you to take your pants off. That would leave you in just your underwear, and you’d admit that you were a bit nervous. You shimmied out of your pants and when you looked up again, your jaw nearly dropped.

It appeared that Zane was really good at getting undressed, because when you looked back up, he was completely unclothed and had his hand around his cock, giving it slow strokes. Without even realizing it, you licked your lips at the sight. It was absolutely obscene, but you never wanted to look away. 

You finally looked up at his face and he was grinning wide. “Somethin’ you want?” There definitely was. You reached out to grab at his hips, splaying your fingers across his warm skin and gripping tight. “I want to do anything you want.”

It was then that he laughed. “Anythin’?” The way he said it was almost sinister, but you knew better. You nodded, licking your lips again. “Anything.” 

His arms wrapped around your middle, your skin now pressed against his bare chest. He was eager to kiss you, nearly smashing his lips against yours. It was almost sweet how badly he wanted to be kissing you. He was holding you tight to him and you could feel his hands against your bare back. You let your own hands trail up his sides, over his shoulders, and into his hair, threading your fingers through the thick strands.

He then pushed you onto your back on the bed and hooked his fingers into your underwear. “I’m not gonna waste any more time then.” He tugged them down your legs, gaze wandering over your now completely exposed lower half. “Fuck.” He breathed out, pupil blown wide. His fingers grazed over your skin, sending shivers across your body. 

You were more than ready for what was about to come. Maybe not physically, this was all moving pretty fast at this point after all, but you’d wanted Zane in some way since the first time you’d seen his picture in the file. You’d have been an idiot to not see that he had completely earned the title of galaxy’s sexiest hitman.

It didn’t take long for him to line himself up with you, waiting for your explicit permission before he did anything. His face was flushed and his hair was a mess and he looked gorgeous. You met his gaze and you nodded, giving him the permission he was looking for.

And then he was inside you, stretching you out and making you moan and grab for him to hold onto while you began to adjust to the new feeling. Zane was eager, you could tell, but he was kind enough to allow you to get used to him before starting to move. Once the initial pain was gone from your face, he slowly began to rock his hips.

He gripped onto your sides for a little bit of leverage, letting him pull you in to meet his movements as he started going faster. You wrapped your legs around his waist and he groaned, feeling your skin even more against his. His hips were now steadily meeting yours, the sound of moans and skin against skin filling the room. 

You sat up just a bit, as best as you could, so you could move your hands up to Zane’s hair and tug him into a lip bruising kiss. You hadn’t meant to be so aggressive, but when your mouth met his, you felt him grip your sides tighter in approval. He was grinning against your lips as he slipped his tongue into your mouth, tangling with yours. You only separated from each other when you finally had to breath.

Hearing Zane moan as he pumped in and out of you was beautiful, one of the best sounds you’d ever heard. You didn’t even care that the two of you were probably waking up the whole ship with the combined noise.

You could only think about him. You could only moan out his name and beg for more, for him to go harder, faster, anything. You were sure you wouldn’t be able to move after this, but you couldn’t care less. He felt so good inside you that you could almost believe he was meant to be there. 

Feeling his grip on your sides start to tighten, you looked to see his face was filled with pure bliss, like he was in heaven. “Fuck, I’m gonna cum…” He groaned out, slowing his pace just a bit so he could warn you. “Can I--” Before he could even finish asking, you were nodding. “Yes, please, anything you want~!” Your voice wavered as you felt your own end coming just as quickly. 

Soon, you felt a new heat inside you as Zane slowed further and further until he was completely still, remaining in you for the time being. He looked exhausted. There was sweat on his forehead, but he was still grinning down at you. “Never cum so hard in my whole life.” He said, finally deciding to pull out of you. You could then feel his cum dripping down your legs. “Holy shit, you weren’t joking.” You did your best to keep your lower half off his bed while he grabbed a towel from the other side of the room.

Once you were sufficiently cleaned up, you were surprised to see Zane sitting on the bed next to you with some clothes in his hands. “Figured you might want somethin’ comfy to wear to sleep. Not that you hafta stay here!” He said, a little frantically as he handed you the clothes. It was a large sweatshirt that definitely belonged to him and a pair of shorts. “I would really like to stay. Not only is your bed far more comfortable than mine, there’s also a very hot guy who lives here and I’d love to spend the night with him.” You could’ve sworn you saw him blush at that.

“Right! Well, I just sleep with my boxers, if that’s okay with you.” You got up to find your underwear and change into the clothes he’d given you. “Of course that’s fine.” You said, pulling the sweatshirt over your head. Once you got back to the bed, he was already settled in. He lifted the covers for you and you happily got in beside him. You pressed yourself up to him and rested your hands on his chest while he wrapped an arm around your side.

The room was quiet for a bit while the two of you got comfortable and you felt yourself drifting off to sleep. “Do you regret joining up with us?” He asked softly, not wanting to scare you with sudden noise. You looked up at him and immediately knew your answer. “No, not at all.”


End file.
